The goal of this project is to characterize membrane surface properties of pancreatic acinar carcinoma cells, and relate surface properties to growth of the acinar carcinoma. A mechanical fragmentation procedure has been developed for examination of the carcinoma in vitro. The fragments demonstrate normal rates and patterns of protein and DNA synthesis when maintained in vitro for up to 5 hours. The fragments were responsive to the secretagogue carbamylcholine between 10 to the minus 8th power to 10 to the minus 3rd power M, suggesting good preservation of membrane receptors for secretagogues during tumor fragmentation. However, the carcinoma fragments demonstrated an apparent low rate of carbamylcholine-induced protein secretion as compared to normal pancreas in vitro. We suggest that the apparent low rate of protein secretion reflects functional immaturity of the acinar carcinoma. Future work will focus on further characterization of membrane receptors, protein secretion, and cell proliferation in the carcinoma.